When first his visit was announced, they had their doubts about him--
"your Uncle Felix" had a very questionable sound indeed, but the fact
that he lived in Paris and was a writer of sea-stories and historical
novels counterbalanced the handicap of the unpleasant "Felix." For to
their ears Felix was not a proper sort of name at all; it was all
right for a horse or a dog or even for a town, but for a man who was
also a relation it was a positive disaster. It would not shorten for
one thing, and for another it reminded them of "a king, or some one in
a history book," and thus did not predispose them in his favour. It
was simply what Tim called a "beastly name." Aunt Emily, however, was
responsible for their biggest prejudice against him: "You must
remember not to bother him, children; you must never disturb him when
he's working." And as Uncle Felix was coming to stay for several weeks
in the Mill House, they regarded him in advance as some kind of
horrible excitement they must put up with.
However, as most things in life go by contraries, this Uncle Felix
person turned out just the opposite. Within an hour of his arrival he
was firmly established as friend and ally, yet so quickly and easily
was this adjustment brought about that no one could say exactly how it
happened.
Pages:
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78